


three times mackenzie wanted to kiss dalton (+ one time he did)

by abovemvthroat



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: M/M, and borderline fluff without plot again, at like one line, bc it's in my head, but anyway, clueless!dalton, i'll shut up now, i'm bad at tags yay, i'm trash, if u squint and look real close, jk u still won't see it, p sure dalton is pining in this too though, pining!mack, this is so rambly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 09:05:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6417421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abovemvthroat/pseuds/abovemvthroat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>there were a few things mackenzie was expecting when he got to california. people rushing around everywhere, lots of noise and lights, a general sense of chaos and nervous energy.</i> </p><p>
  <i>the one thing he wasn't counting on, though, was dalton.</i>
</p><p>or, mackenzie falls for dalton early on in the competition and internal angst ensues in vast quantities</p>
            </blockquote>





	three times mackenzie wanted to kiss dalton (+ one time he did)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lumoon33](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumoon33/gifts).



> i started this at 4:30 am and finished it at 7:30 am bc i'm dalkenzie trash and i regret nothing :-) 
> 
> lowercase intended.

there were a few things mackenzie was expecting when he got to california. people rushing around everywhere, lots of noise and lights, a general sense of chaos and nervous energy, all of which he found to be true as he found his way to where he was supposed to be. he felt so small and insignificant in the pandemonium of such a large city, still does sometimes. all expected. 

the one thing he wasn't counting on, though, was dalton.

**1**

dalton wasn't the type to walk up and introduce himself, to make a multitude of friends his first day in hollywood. mackenzie figured that out as soon as he first spotted the boy absentmindedly picking at his guitar strings in the corner, seemingly as far away from everyone as possible, and watching the crowd like they were entertainment to pass the time and nothing more.

mackenzie was intrigued enough to walk over to the boy and lean against the wall next to him. not that odd, considering he was the rather friendly type, the kind of person who initiated conversations and struck up a friendship with nearly everyone he met. 

he remembers trying to think of conversation starters, guitars or maybe the flowered shoes the boy was sporting. but it was dalton who spoke first, a somewhat quiet "hey." 

mack smiled, the awkward smile you give strangers when you pass them in the store, not much meaning behind it but enough to be polite, with an equally quiet "hi" and looked up into the boy's eyes for the first time. 

the boy only met mack's own eyes for a split second before shifting his focus back to the crowd, still fidgeting with the guitar strings. mackenzie remembers that particular moment as clearly as if it had happened this morning. it's hard to forget seeing eyes like that for the first time. bright blue with a tinge of green and lined with black. he looked away too after a second, last thing he needed was to get caught staring at a stranger who clearly didn't feel like making conversation, much less a friend. not that mack could blame him. he was certainly on edge, too, as was everyone else seemingly, pacing and taking deep breaths and fidgeting uneasily. felt like the whole room was made up of four walls and tension. how long were they supposed to wait here? 

he glanced back at the silent boy to his right and opened his mouth to let out the most predictable and boring thing he could've said, "i'm mackenzie, what's your name?" the boy jerked his head back to mackenzie, like he'd forgotten he was there and mack had startled him. "uh, dalton. nice to meet you." he held out a shaky hand. 

mackenzie grasped it for a couple seconds before letting it fall back to rest on dalton's guitar, where it took on a steady tapping to some beat only dalton could hear. "you too." 

dalton surprised him a little then, he kept the conversation going, easy as that was. "where are you from?" he smiled but his words still had the nervous edge of someone lacking sleep and making up for it with anxiety over the day to come. another thing in common. 

"louisiana. lafayette. you?" 

"dallas. never been to louisiana, sounds nice though." 

he was staring at his guitar strings again. security blanket, mack thought. not that he was really one to talk. he'd been gripping the neck of his so tightly he was surprised it didn't crack. okay well, not truly. he probably wasn't strong enough to do damage to the thing even if he tried. cost of trading in sports for music. 

they kept up a steady back-and-forth until they finally got to change rooms. but mackenzie still stuck somewhat closely to dalton, what with him being the only one he'd spoken more than a few words to since he got here. he wouldn't mind spending a little more time getting to know dalton. he was interesting, there was evidently more to him than the handful of facts he'd offered over the course of the morning. mackenzie liked complexity. mackenzie liked dalton. 

he didn't admit that to himself until later, much later, among other things. but that didn't stop the urge from developing in the back of his mind.

**2**

it was group week the first time he recognized it. that pull. and it terrified him.

he'd been watching dalton make his way down the hallway, some diminutive dark-haired girl whose name he hadn't learned yet trailing behind him, looking equally as stressed. he knew they needed another member, and he was more than tempted to volunteer. but he'd finally found a group of his own and couldn't just leave. for just a second he wished he wasn't so damn considerate. 

dalton stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway then, the tiny girl nearly bumping into him and laughing a little too loudly to be natural. dalton ignored her, but mackenzie didn't. he got a feeling then that he already didn't like her, and he wasn't quite sure why. it was probably just that she was trying too hard, that irked him. and dalton's lack of attention made some small part of him feel a little lighter. which was strange. he knew he shouldn't care if dalton noticed some random girl with an obvious crush. 

but he did. and if he did, what did that say about him? he certainly wasn't interested in the girl. but something different could possibly be said on the topic of dalton. and it hit him then, that it most definitely could. that he didn't want dalton to look at her and laugh along, to pay her any attention that could be focused on him instead. what he wanted was for dalton to ditch the pixie and come over to where mack was standing and-- 

what was he thinking, what was he doing? 

"mack, are you in there?" he flinched a little and panicked for a second, as if he thought the blonde girl calling his name could see his feelings written clearly on his face. he knew she couldn't, but if he didn't stop staring at her like she was a ghost she'd know something was up. so he pulled off a fake smile and apologized, said he'd just zoned out for a second, blamed it on the lack of sleep, pushed dalton and anything he wanted to do with dalton out of his mind. it was more difficult than he cared to admit.

**3**

dalton's pacing was distracting. mack was attempting to read a book that _dalton_ had suggested he try, and here he was getting in his own way by being utterly and ridiculously paranoid. and he was blocking the natural reading light filtering in through the window in their shared hotel room.

"dalton, stop." he did, looked at mack with fear written clear in his eyes. mack stood up, tossed the book behind him onto the bed, crossed the few feet to the slightly taller boy. "i was in there, i saw you up there." dalton breathed in, as if he was bracing for bad news. _stupid beautiful stupid idiot._ "you were incredible." dalton exhaled and his shoulders slumped, like he was afraid of hearing that. "thanks, but you have to say that. you're my roommate." 

the corner of mack's mouth quirked up. "pretty sure being your roommate doesn't require me to lie to protect your ego." dalton rolled his eyes and breathed a pathetic attempt at a laugh, and mack's smile faltered. he hated seeing dalton like this, in that self-deprecating place somewhere in the back of his mind, not really listening to anything but his own internal voice questioning over and over if he had an okay performance. of course he did. mack knew that, but he also knew dalton wouldn't believe it until he watched it back himself. 

dalton sighed through his nose then, looked back at mack with a faint apologetic smile, took mack's spot on his bed. "sorry, i know you're trying to make me feel better. thanks." he sighed again, eyes trained on something invisible outside the window. "i just, i can't remember a single thing, and it's the worst feeling." 

mack sat down beside him, almost put his arm around dalton's shoulders but thought better of it. "i know, but you trust me, don't you?" dalton switched his focus back to mackenzie, listening now. "of course," he muttered, knowing where this was going. mack prepared for another fake smile but it came naturally this time, despite the spectacularly bright eyes boring into his and monopolizing a large portion of his thoughts. "then trust me now. you killed it. you don't have anything to worry about." 

dalton gave him a half-smile. genuine, mack could tell, to say he appreciated the encouragement. but not with a trace of belief. dalton stood then, paused for a second, eyes trained again on that nonexistent point outside the window. "i think i'm gonna go for a walk. i'll be back in a little bit." he strode toward the door, head down, hands in his jacket pockets. 

and mackenzie wanted nothing more than to keep dalton in that room, to not let him walk out the door and continue to torture himself for the rest of the evening, to give him something else to focus on for a while. but he couldn't make himself follow through.

**\+ 1**

now it doesn't take any amount of effort or thought for him to follow through. to catch dalton off guard with a kiss with no worry of being rejected or effectively ruining anything they'd built between them.

now things are much different. now months have passed and with them any trace of doubt mack ever had about being involved with dalton. he doesn't know how he ever could have been conflicted, how he ever could have taken one look at dalton and not known right then that he felt something. love is tricky sometimes, the way it can hide in the corners and shadows of your mind and then suddenly ambush your every thought, demolishing every obstacle you worked so hard to place in its path. 

he frequently thinks back in moments like these on how it all started, when it's just the two of them, holed up in their hotel room and perfectly comfortable in each other's silence like they are now. with dalton curled into mack, his head tucked under mack's chin and his arm thrown carelessly over the older boy's waist. 

and when dalton looks up suddenly and reminds him to take off his glasses so he doesn't break them in his sleep again, mackenzie feels that familiar pull and doesn't hesitate to follow through for just a couple seconds until he feels dalton's smile against his lips, before complying and reaching back to toss them onto the nightstand. dalton only presses closer and resumes his usual sleeping position and mack drapes his arm around him and drops one more kiss to the top of his head, traces idle patterns between his shoulder blades until the younger boy drifts off. 

and he'd probably look back on these moments too, just like he looked back now, and he'd probably find fault with something in the future, too. maybe that they don't spend enough time like this. but for now they're both plenty happy, and that's enough.

**Author's Note:**

> this is one of my favorite kinds of fic and i've always wanted to do one so i hope i did it justice. hit me w kudos n a comment if u liked it!! tysm for reading <3 
> 
> [my tumblr](http://www.daltonxmackenzie.tumblr.com) | [my twitter](http://www.twitter.com/DALTONRAPATTONl)


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